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There's Democracy, and Then There's Soccer

Zakumi, the official mascot of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, looks optimistic. The government is officially matching his mood by reassuring the world it will be ready to host the event.
(By Themba Hadebe -- Associated Press)

JOHANNESBURG -- As South Africa weathers its most turbulent political period since the end of apartheid, the nation's most-watched leaders -- ousted president, caretaker president and probable president-to-be -- have been rushing to reassure the public that all is definitely well.

The economy is on track, they say. Democracy is safe, they vow.

And so, they stress, is soccer.

"We remain on course to host in 2010 the best World Cup ever -- an African World Cup," Kgalema Motlanthe, the interim president, said in his first presidential address to Parliament last week. "We fully expect to meet every commitment our nation has made to the football world."

South Africa's role as the first African host of the World Cup, one of the globe's largest sporting events, is a huge point of pride for people here, who consider it a chance to show off their country's beauty and modernity and dispel myths about Africa. Clinching the spot was seen as a major victory for President Thabo Mbeki, who was forced from office almost two weeks ago by the ruling party.

But since being named host in 2004, South Africa has battled doubts about whether it is up to the task. Although it is sub-Saharan Africa's most developed country, South Africa is racing to build and update 10 stadiums, modernize its inefficient public transportation system, convert homes into bed-and-breakfasts and hire thousands of police officers to keep more than 400,000 foreign soccer fans safe in a crime-plagued nation where 50 people are murdered each day.